September 30, 2008

At least one person on The Corner has some sense

The brain trust over at National Review decided to throw principled fiscal conservatism under the bus and endorse the Paulson bailout plan in an editorial today. Their argument? The House GOP needs to fall in line and stop whining about this being socialism. It's not socialism, because National Review says it's not.

Mark Levin, who is quickly becoming my favorite conservative, has signed on to The Corner today to respectfully disagree:

Count me among those few here who want to thank the House
Republicans for taking a bold stand against what had been a stampede on
a scale I have never before witnessed on matters of huge
consequence. Conservatism is more than a quaint belief-system to be
embraced and debated over donuts at Starbucks. It is more than a list
of talking points. It is the foundation of the civil society. The
liberal uses crises, real or manufactured, to expand the power of
government at the expense of the individual and private property. He
has spent, in earnest, 70 years evading the Constitution's limits on
governmental power. If conservatives don't stand up to this, who
will? If they don't offer serious alternatives that address the current
circumstances AND defend the founding principles, who will? The House
Republicans have done both. And I, for one, thank them.

I realize the markets are bad, but I would rather have years of economic turmoil than have a bill passed that gives the Treasury Secretary the right to "ensure the economic well-being of Americans." That's a bridge too far.